In these small hours
by Smoochynose
Summary: Returning home from the Grand Magic Games, Lucy learns Natsu is taking the aftermath of what happened to her future self much harder than she realised. Pre-Nalu. Canon Compliant.


A/N: Title is from Rob Thomas' song Little Wonders. Set directly after they return to Magnolia after the Grand Magic Games.

* * *

 **In these small hours**

* * *

After getting back from the Grand Magic Games, Lucy had headed straight down to the Guild like many of the others to celebrate. As the day turned into evening and the evening drew to a close, many of her friends said their goodbyes and wandered on home. Lucy stayed a bit longer, promising Mira to help clean down the main hall and set up for the next day.

By the time she got back to her apartment in the early hours of the morning, she was sweaty and tired and really couldn't face doing anything other than collapsing into her bed. She stumbled across her room, more out of exhaustion than her earlier drinking during the festivities, and crawled under her covers into her nice, warm bed.

Too warm.

She opened her eyes and looked across the bed. Natsu stared back.

"Natsu," she began growling. He cut her off.

"Don't." The word was thick in Natsu's throat and Lucy swallowed her words down. In that moment Natsu looked absolutely wrecked. Any anger was quickly forgotten and drowned in a flood of concern.

"Natsu?"

Natsu shifted until he was looking down over her. He was shaking and his eyes filled with tears. Lucy had never seen him this way. Not once.

"Natsu, what's wrong?"

"I-I let you die. I was right there and I let you die." His voice cracked and was full of self-loathing grief. Warm tears splashed down on Lucy's face.

Lucy remembered the horror of future Rogue's attack coming towards her. She remembered her own helplessness to act, her future self pushing her out the way, and the promise they made. She remembered Natsu's rage. When he hadn't said anything during the rest of their stay, Lucy had assumed he had dealt with whatever he had been feeling in that moment. Obviously she had been very wrong there. Either he was having a delayed reaction or this had been stewing a while.

She reached up and placed her hand on his cheek. "It's okay. I'm still here."

"No. No it's not okay. You died. You died and I couldn't do anything to stop it. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I just let you die." He shook, trembling with emotion. The tears fell thick and fast now. And each one burned her in a way that had nothing to do with his magic. No words are going to fix this.

She reached her arms up around him and pulled him close, resting her chin on his head. "I'm still here," she tells him firmly. "And I'm not going anywhere. I promise. You and me, we're a team."

"Lucy," he choked and then slowly, as if she was the threatening to shatter into a thousand pieces at any moment, he wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. "I can't lose you," he confessed into her skin.

"And I can't lose you. So we'll just have to stick together, yeah."

"Yeh," he agreed quietly.

They stayed like that for a long moment, just holding onto each other. Slowly Natsu began to stop trembling. They lay there and listened to the other breathing.

"We're going to be okay," Lucy said at last.

Natsu found her hand and threaded his own through it. "Yeh," he agreed and gently squeezed her hand. There was another pause, this one warm and comfortable.

"Get some sleep, Natsu. We both need it."

"Night, Luce," he murmured.

"Night, Natsu."

She says nothing the next morning when she wakes still curled up with Natsu. Instead she smiles and makes them breakfast and only relaxes deep inside when she knows he's not going to break.

The next evening on the other hand is another matter entirely. She screeches upon finding him in her bed and wastes no time, pulling him out and beating him over the head as she rants about respecting personal space.

"But Luce," Natsu whines.

Lucy has to hide the small smile threatening to creep onto her face. It does no good though. Natsu can read the smile in her eyes just as well as she can read the one in his. And, when a large grin breaks across the boy's face, she knows he's taken that as an invitation to break in to her apartment and do this all over again.

She really should care more about that than she does.

* * *

 _"Come on, the adventure continues!"_


End file.
